☭POLITICS☭: Election Season Hell

[cruststache]

Oct 2, 2024 10:48:10 GMT -5 johnny two cool said:

I understand some strategic fibbing or stretching the truth for the sake of rhetoric, but MAN

JD Vance is so supremely full of shit. Trump didn't accomplish reshoring or boost domestic manufacturing (but his successor did). They don't have some sort of grand plan to boost housing production (they have the exact opposite in mind).

worst lie of this campaign was aoc saying biden harris are working for a ceasefire. Point blank biggest lie just gor voted this season.

[johnny two cool]

They are working for a ceasefire. They just wont do what has to be done because the US and Israel have a "special relationship." Just about every congressmember has an AIPAC person on speed dial. A Republican is going to have one hell of time getting elected if they don't have the support of the NRA, and anyone's going to have a hard time if they piss off AIPAC. To her credit, AIPAC didn't even really bother targeting AOC (or Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib or Andre Carson, etc., etc.). Israel is losing the long game wrt public relations, but that doesn't really mean much for Palestinians today. 

[meatballmaniac]

Oct 2, 2024 11:29:23 GMT -5 johnny two cool said:

They are working for a ceasefire. They just wont do what has to be done because the US and Israel have a "special relationship." Just about every congressmember has an AIPAC person on speed dial. A Republican is going to have one hell of time getting elected if they don't have the support of the NRA, and anyone's going to have a hard time if they piss off AIPAC. To her credit, AIPAC didn't even really bother targeting AOC (or Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib or Andre Carson, etc., etc.). Israel is losing the long game wrt public relations, but that doesn't really mean much for Palestinians today. 

If there’s no ceasefire to be worked for…

[johnny two cool]

It is also funny to "both sides" this one when the 94 (out of 535) congress members who have publicly called for a ceasefire are all Democrats. And everyone who sighned the letter calling for a Priority-2 (P-2) designation under the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program was a Democrat. 

[Percussionist Foster Grant]

Oct 2, 2024 11:18:59 GMT -5 cruststache said:

Oct 2, 2024 10:48:10 GMT -5 johnny two cool said:

I understand some strategic fibbing or stretching the truth for the sake of rhetoric, but MAN

JD Vance is so supremely full of shit. Trump didn't accomplish reshoring or boost domestic manufacturing (but his successor did). They don't have some sort of grand plan to boost housing production (they have the exact opposite in mind).

Point blank biggest lie just gor voted this season.

This just in, Gore is voting in this upcoming election.

[johnny two cool]

lol hard-rocker

[Percussionist Foster Grant]

There's literally 5-6 rentable non-slum homes in my town of 100k people lol.

[solidsnake]

Oct 2, 2024 12:03:13 GMT -5 johnny two cool said:

lol hard-rocker

A total embarrassment. I know this is like a tankini anti-capitalist talking point, but how many people espousing it believe it? She can’t be that dumb.

[solidsnake]

If Tester wins (he won’t) and Cruz loses (unlikely), holy moly will Twitter be wild. How much money is getting pumped into Texas in this homestretch? Also, why is Cruz in a precarious spot now of all years?

[Ass Dan]

Cruz has been trending downward. Beto was in striking distance. I assume the rat will still hold on somehow.

[Ass Dan]

Currently weighing writing in “Rashida Tlaib” for my house seatq. The current rep (Democrat) is loved by AIPAC and voted to censure Tlaib so it seems like a creative fuck you. But there is some belief that the House might be down to a one seat difference and it seems way more consequential as a result.

[chaospouch]

So anyway what’s up w this port strike thing and why were ppl pillaging Costco for tp this morning

[Ass Dan]

Preppers exist to pad the profits of retailers.

[johnny two cool]

Oct 2, 2024 12:44:22 GMT -5 chaospouch said:

So anyway what’s up w this port strike thing

strike:
www.freightwaves.com/
gcaptain.com/

port automation:
Schmidt, Emily. “Why Does the U.S. Lag Other Nations so Badly in the Automation of Its Ports?” APM Research Lab (blog), November 3, 2022. www.apmresearchlab.org/10x-port-automation.
Von Ah, Andrew. “U.S. Ports Have Adopted Some Automation Technologies and Report Varied Effects.” Report to Congressional Committees. Port Infrastructure. Government Accountability Office, March 2024. www.gao.gov/assets/d24106498.pdf.

Oct 2, 2024 12:44:22 GMT -5 chaospouch said:

why were ppl pillaging Costco for tp this morning

they don't know that most of it is domestically produced.

[chaospouch]

Very informative thank you Jimmy

[johnny two cool]

L.A. Times also tends to cover this stuff more thoroughly than other MSM outlets

Lee, Don. "Dockworkers' Strike Closes East and Gulf Coast Ports; the Union's First such Stoppage in Decades could Affect Trade and the Nation's Economy." Los Angeles Times, Oct 02, 2024. 

SPOILER: Click to show

The union representing thousands of dockworkers from Maine to Texas launched a strike Tuesday over wages and the use of automation, shutting down seaports with a work stoppage that threatens to cause significant disruption to trade and the nation's economy.

It is the first strike since 1977 for the International Longshoremen's Assn., whose 47,000 members handle cargo operations at three dozen ports on the East and Gulf coasts that together receive about half of imports to the U.S. And it comes at a delicate time, economically and politically, as the country is emerging from a period of high inflation and is just a month away from a national election.

President Biden, who has championed labor rights during his time in the White House, has said he would not break up the strike. On Tuesday he stood squarely on the side of the union, issuing a statement urging the United States Maritime Alliance, the group representing mostly foreign shipping lines and other employers at the ports, "to come to the table and present a fair offer to the workers."

"Ocean carriers have made record profits since the pandemic, and in some cases profits grew in excess of 800% compared to their profits prior to the pandemic," Biden said, noting that executives and shareholders had benefited. "It's only fair that workers, who put themselves at risk during the pandemic to keep ports open, see a meaningful increase in their wages as well."

The maritime alliance had no immediate comment on Biden's statement, but said late Monday that it had offered a wage increase of nearly 50% over six years. The union has been pressing for wage increases of 77%, and its leader, Harold Daggett, doubled down on the demand as he spoke on the picket lines at the Port of New York and New Jersey. Top-scale longshore workers earn a base pay of $39 an hour.

Republican lawmakers and business groups, including the National Assn. of Manufacturers, urged Biden to apply the 1947 Taft-Hartley Act to end the strike. President George W. Bush used that authority in 2002 to halt an 11-day lockout of union members at West Coast ports.

If the strike ends quickly, it isn't expected to have big consequences for businesses or consumers. Many retailers had their products shipped earlier than usual and built up inventory in anticipation of a labor action. Many imported toys and holiday accessories such as Christmas ornaments, for example, arrived in late summer instead of October, when they normally would, analysts said.

Some importers have transported goods by air and others have rerouted cargo to the West Coast, adding to traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, the busiest container complex in the U.S.

Each passing day of a strike will cost billions of dollars in lost trade, economists say, although some of that will be recouped later. And if the ports remain shut down for longer than a week or two, the economy will see more significant and wider effects, including snarled supply chains and increased logistics costs, as it did earlier in the pandemic.

For consumers, the effects initially may be relatively minor and even unnoticeable, with products such as European wine and perishables such as bananas costing more, said Jason Miller, a supply chain management expert at Michigan State University.

But after a couple of weeks, he said, automakers that produce cars in the U.S. could be forced to slow production or even impose temporary layoffs if they can't get enough imported parts and components. Through July, 56% of car parts and 71% of motor vehicles that are imported came through the East and Gulf coasts, according to Miller's analysis of Census Bureau data.

"There's just a limit to what the system can take. You can only divert so much," he said.

Thanks in part to diverted cargo, the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach combined had their busiest August ever this year. Both ports have geared up for increased volume in anticipation of the strike.

"Folks have been preparing for this day for months," said Gene Seroka, executive director of the Port of Los Angeles. Through August, he said, the port's volume is up 17% from last year's level. "We just ended the third quarter and it'll be our best on record."

West Coast dockworkers are represented by a different union, the International Longshore & Warehouse Union, or ILWU, which agreed to a new contract with the Pacific Maritime Assn. last year.

A union spokesperson said Tuesday that the ILWU had no public comment on the strike at this time. William Adams, the ILWU's president, previously sent a letter to Daggett pledging solidarity with the East Coast union, and in a symbolic gesture of support, he joined the picket lines Tuesday on the East Coast.

Dockworkers on the West Coast, however, could not easily show their solidarity by refusing to unload products diverted from the East, because cargo destinations are booked before vessels set sail, making it hard to know where they might otherwise have gone. California port operations could be affected if the striking longshore workers union in the East set up pickets here, as it did in San Francisco during the strike in 1977. But even then, the ILWU's actions may be constrained by contract rules.

An ILWU spokesperson said he had not heard of any plans for the eastern union to come to West Coast ports.

The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach report that they have the capacity to handle more cargo rerouted from the East, although additional volume could create some bottlenecks.

"Port operators on the West Coast learned to operate under severe duress during the reopening of trade following pandemic-era distortions," said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at the tax and consulting firm RSM US. "We think that this will partially mitigate some of those [effects] that will adversely impact trade volumes during the duration of the labor action."

Brusuelas estimated the strike would affect about $1.3 billion in exports and $3 billion in imports daily, still a modest figure given the size of the American economy. "The major industries impacted by this action will be local transportation and warehousing and imports of autos," he said. "Agricultural goods, coal and petroleum figure to see the greatest short-term impact."

The effects will be heaviest in places that are home to or support the biggest ports along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, including New York-New Jersey; Savannah, Ga.; Houston; and Charleston, S.C. The Port of New York and New Jersey, the busiest on the East Coast, said 100,000 containers were waiting to be unloaded, with 35 ships expected to arrive this week.

The Port of L.A.'s Seroka said that even a short strike closing a port for just a week could cause a backlog that might take four to six weeks to clear.

A lengthy strike could also lead to broader price increases and create some shortages during the holiday shopping season. Businesses in California say they expect the strike will also touch them, though perhaps not as hard, with consumers ultimately bearing the cost.

"If we have learned anything at all from previous supply chain disruptions, it is that the fallout results in higher cost for consumers on goods like clothing, fruits and vegetables and medical supplies," said Patty Tschaepe, president of the Los Angeles Customs Brokers and Freight Forwarders Assn.

International Longshoremen's Assn. members started picketing Tuesday after their six-year labor contract with the United States Maritime Alliance expired at midnight.

The union has pushed hard against employers wanting to use robotics and other labor-saving technologies. The alliance said Monday that it had offered to maintain the current language on automation and semiautomation.

[Sorley Boy]

Oct 2, 2024 12:43:47 GMT -5 Ass Dan said:

Currently weighing writing in “Rashida Tlaib” for my house seatq. The current rep (Democrat) is loved by AIPAC and voted to censure Tlaib so it seems like a creative fuck you. But there is some belief that the House might be down to a one seat difference and it seems way more consequential as a result.

I'm not voting for our rep for similar reasons. The only question is can Sophia still win my vote by renouncing racism, or will it once again go to Wild Steve, Chalie or Bartolo Colon. 

[boundforgloryhole]

[The Last Online Marxist]

[The Last Online Marxist]

Oct 2, 2024 12:56:43 GMT -5 Sorley Boy said:

Oct 2, 2024 12:43:47 GMT -5 Ass Dan said:

Currently weighing writing in “Rashida Tlaib” for my house seatq. The current rep (Democrat) is loved by AIPAC and voted to censure Tlaib so it seems like a creative fuck you. But there is some belief that the House might be down to a one seat difference and it seems way more consequential as a result.

I'm not voting for our rep for similar reasons. The only question is can Sophia still win my vote by renouncing racism, or will it once again go to Wild Steve, Chalie or Bartolo Colon. 

I've renounced racism many times. And I will continue to renounce racism. Anything to get your vote

[concealer]

Jimmy looks like how I’d expect a 100 year old on hospice to look, we have a dozen of him and worse looking in my nursing home

[johnny two cool]

Oct 2, 2024 13:18:00 GMT -5 boundforgloryhole said:

Man, how long are you people going to fall for this garbage? Talking about two completely separate pools of money.


Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) allocated around $50 billion specifically for resilience and disaster response, which includes flood mitigation.

Notable programs include:



Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC): Approximately $1 billion annually for hazard mitigation grants.

Flood Mitigation Assistance (FMA): Increased funding to support flood resilience projects.

[meatballmaniac]

Attn Sarco Pod

[cruststache]

Oct 2, 2024 11:29:23 GMT -5 johnny two cool said:

They are working for a ceasefire. They just wont do what has to be done because the US and Israel have a "special relationship." Just about every congressmember has an AIPAC person on speed dial. A Republican is going to have one hell of time getting elected if they don't have the support of the NRA, and anyone's going to have a hard time if they piss off AIPAC. To her credit, AIPAC didn't even really bother targeting AOC (or Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib or Andre Carson, etc., etc.). Israel is losing the long game wrt public relations, but that doesn't really mean much for Palestinians today. 

or to a much larger regional war. At this point carter's corspe could do better than uncle joe

[johnny two cool]

Oct 2, 2024 13:43:44 GMT -5 cruststache said:

Oct 2, 2024 11:29:23 GMT -5 johnny two cool said:

They are working for a ceasefire. They just wont do what has to be done because the US and Israel have a "special relationship." Just about every congressmember has an AIPAC person on speed dial. A Republican is going to have one hell of time getting elected if they don't have the support of the NRA, and anyone's going to have a hard time if they piss off AIPAC. To her credit, AIPAC didn't even really bother targeting AOC (or Ilhan Omar or Rashida Tlaib or Andre Carson, etc., etc.). Israel is losing the long game wrt public relations, but that doesn't really mean much for Palestinians today. 

or to a much larger regional war. At this point carter's corspe could do better than uncle joe

Congress, dawg

[DrewBlood]

Oct 2, 2024 13:25:31 GMT -5 The Last Online Marxist said:

[Percussionist Foster Grant]

Anybody who's worked with any sort of state or federal funding knows that pools of money are allocated for specific purposes, often times agreed upon far in advance. I don't agree with throwing blank checks at Israel's war effort either, but comparing money appropriated for natural disasters vs military aid for overseas "allies" is kinda disingenuous.

I hate that we're seeing a shit ton more stuff that would qualify as "fake news" from the dems in this election cycle, often for shit that's real easy to debunk when you scratch the surface.

[Percussionist Foster Grant]

also in before the Radiohhead "The Bends" photoshop of that Jimmy Carter pic.

[krujones]

[Tstigz]

Both my grandfathers looked like that when they had a few weeks to live. Mouth open, asleep all the time. My wife’s grandpa too.